


Under The Mask

by CuriosityComplex



Category: Rizzoli & Isles
Genre: F/F, Rizzles, Smart Jane, prompt, r&I au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-06-01 09:43:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6513145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriosityComplex/pseuds/CuriosityComplex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: The idea is that jane is a secret genius but only her family knows because something bad happened in her past and she never told anyone because of it. But when a case involving her past comes across korsacks desk she has to tell the team how smart she really is to keep them safe. Ideas for how smart she could be are she could have medical skills and training she could speak a lot of different languages she could be able to hack on the computer she could be able to do math really well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Annajadekin](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Annajadekin).



In the bullpen, the day had been pretty standard so far. It just so happened that Jane had closed her most recent case and just had to do the paperwork; _her favourite_. She sat unenthusiastically at her desk, slowly typing up all of the details. Occasionally, she’d glance up and look around the room in attempt to cure her unrelenting boredom. Frankie was with Nina at her computer trying to figure out what exactly she did to crack the encryption on the iPad of their last victim. - Jane thought about joining them but, unlike Frankie, hearing all the tech talk would bore her more than paperwork. She doesn’t care how they did it, she’s just thankful they did. - Korsak was at his desk avidly tapping away at the keys of his computer, from time to time stopping to straighten his glasses. Eventually, she sighed as she looked back to her own screen and returned to typing up the case. That didn’t stop her from wishing it would magically be done for her but, hey, a girl’s got to try, right? She couldn’t help but think about how Maura would have some stupid, logical reasoning regarding how to approach her workload.

After a few more minutes of very strained typing, she heard Korsak’s phone ring. Any excuse not to do her work at this point. _Please let me a case, please let it be a case_ she thought as she keenly eavesdropped on his conversation.

“Yep,” he said with a painfully straight face.  
“Okay,” he said as he began to make a note of something.  
“Got it. Thank you.” And that was it.

He continued looking down at his desk, finishing the note and organising some of the papers. Finally, he looked up to Jane who was practically falling off the edge of her seat. He looked at her with a very perplexed look on his face.

“Oh, come on, Korsak,” she said with clear frustration. She knew he knew exactly what she was waiting for.

Korsak shook his head with a small smile and eventually added, “Come on. We’ve got a case.”

“Yes!” She exclaimed. “I mean: Oh, no, how sad…”

Korsak just laughed as he rose from his seat and grabbed his gun from his desk.

* * *

 

“The library?” Jane moaned, already bored with the idea.

“Yes, the library,” Korsak smirked. “Hey, in between looking at the body and groaning, you might even learn something,” he jabbed.

“Oh ha ha. You might find a book on how to send a five-word text in under an hour,” she returned playfully.

Korsak laughed and shook his head.

“What’s the case, anyway?” She asked (almost) professionally.

“Library employee, mid-thirties, found stabbed in the store room. Apparently, it’s just where they keep the books they no longer need so it was lucky that someone went in there looking for an old book otherwise she mightn’t have been found so soon.”

“Lucky for who?” She scoffed, although there was a sadness present that always lingered under her sarcasm at crime scenes. After all, no-one _really_ likes it when people die.

“Whom,” Dr Isles chimed in as she came up behind them, heels clicking away.

“Hey doc,” Korsak said friendlily.

“Hey Maur.”

“Hello Detective Korsak. Hello Jane. How are we all today?” She said chirpily.

Korsak shrugged a little as if to say ‘neither good nor bad.’

“Thankful!” Jane said with a very exaggerated tone.

“Well that’s wonderful. Gratitude is a fantastic thing. What are you thankful for today?” She replied interestedly.

“For not having to do anymore paperwork,” she exclaimed sarcastically.

Vince laughed and Maura pursed her lips for not knowing that there would have been some sort of smart-arse answer.

Jane couldn’t help but smirk a little. She did enjoy causing this response in people.

“Wow, this place is huge,” Korsak remarked, looking around at the newly renovated library.

“Yeah. We’ve discovered a lot more since you went to school,” Jane chuckled. 

Maura raised an eye-brow. Whilst usually amused by Jane’s sarcastic antics, there seemed to be more than other days.

Jane got a glimpse of Maura’s response but chose not to act on it. Instead, she decided to get serious and focus on the case.

As they walked into the storeroom, they were greeted by a uniformed officer who had been guarding the scene. A few feet behind him there was a body on the floor splayed out with what appeared to be several stab wounds to her chest and abdomen.

They all took in the scene as professionals and as human beings.

To hide it, Jane added, “Who knew books were so evocative?”   
The last word slipped out of Jane’s mouth before she could stop it.

Both Korsak and Maura looked at her, quite perplexed that she’d used that word.

To play it off she simply smiled somewhat deviously and said, “What? I know big words too!”

“I didn’t say anything,” Korsak said with open hands raised in front of him.

They all once again focused on the body before them and Jane and Korsak watched as Maura began inspecting the body.

Her first point of call was to check the liver temperature by inserting a long needle-like instrument into the lower right quadrant of the woman’s body. As she did she added, “I concur with the initial reports of the victims age. I will have to do further testing to confirm but she looks to be approximately mid-thirties.”

Before they could respond, she added, “Liver temp is 29.6, putting time of death at sometime between 7 and 8:30 this morning.”

“The place doesn’t open until 9, so it must’ve been someone who had access,” Korsak stated.

“Has anyone spoken to the rest of the staff yet?” Jane asked the young uniformed officer.

He shook his head. “But they’re all in the green room along with people who were in the library when she was discovered.”

Jane nodded in acknowledgement.


	2. Chapter 2

“So what’s a ‘green room’ anyway?” Jane asked unabashedly as they made their way toward it. “Like, don’t famous people have green rooms?”

“It’s actually quite interesting. No-one really knows specifically as there isn’t really much or any documentation of its origin,” Maura stated with a genuine interest. “It has however led to many interesting theories. And, whilst most historians can agree that the rooms were originally the colour green, no-one can say why with certainty.”

Korsak nodded on with intrigue though had pretty much accepted that he wasn’t going to get an answer to that particular question today.

“Maybe it’s ‘cause everyone wanted to be famous and so everyone was _green with envy_ ,” Jane joked, well-aware of the fact that her words had no basis whatsoever.

Maura pursed her lips slightly, this time with the corners turned up in a small smile.

Just as she did, they entered through a large doorway created from a long collapsible door that unfolded about 10 metres (also the length of the green room).

“It’s not even green!” Jane remarked, feigning disappointment.

Her playful nature though was quickly dampened as they looked around and so a group of people, all potential witnesses, in various states of emotion.

“Are you the detectives?” A young man in skinny jeans and an ironic cardigan said. “Your goons over here won’t let us go and won’t tell us why?” He said, obviously quite frustrated.

Korsak raised a hand defensively, encouraging the man to take a step back. Before Jane or anyone else could respond, Korsak put his thumb and finger in his mouth, whistling loudly at the relatively tame crowd to draw their attention. “Ladies and gentleman, I would like to apologise for the inconvenience. My name is detective Korsak and this is detective Rizzoli. If you co-operate with us and answer our questions, we’ll have you returned to your day as soon as possible,” he said amicably.

Everyone seemed to respond to him quite well, even the young man from a moment ago.

A little too proud though to have had his bluff called, he tried to say angrily, “Can you at least tell us why we’re here?”

“Hey,” Jane said firmly. “Step back,” she warned. Rationally though she added, “We’ve got a job to do. Let us do it, and then you can get back to yours.”

The young man watched, gauging just how serious Jane was being at this point. Deciding that it wasn’t a fight he was going to win, he chose instead to sigh in a passive-aggressive manner before rolling his eyes and returning to his bags. Preppy laptop case, the newest Apple laptop, oversized headphones, a pair of typical geek-chic glasses and a bottle of Voss water with leaves and strawberries through it.

Jane couldn’t help but think, _hipster_. She looked over the crowd of people to find out what they were in for. Although she only glanced at one particular older woman for a moment, she knew they were familiar. She even suspected she knew who the woman was but didn’t say anything.

Maura returned to the body to continue her job as the detectives began interviewing the workers and visitors.

They set up two tables about a metre apart from each other (one for each of them) and began speaking to all of the library patrons.

“So, you were in the children’s fiction section with your daughter?” Jane asked a young, tired looking woman.

She nodded in response, arms still wrapped around her three-year-old child. “We got here just after nine,” she paused. “We had just dropped my son off at kindy, and she was already getting restless so we came here to pick up some books for later.”

Jane watched the woman, knowing that she had nothing to do with it. She looked at the little girl on her lap and smiled gently as if to say that everything was okay.

At the other table, Korsak happened to be interviewing the woman that Jane had caught a glimpse of when they arrived.

Her frail voice spoke quietly, “I was at the reception desk. That’s all.” As she spoke, she kept looking over to Jane thinking that she was a very familiar face.

Korsak picked up on her glances and finally asked, “Is there something wrong, ma’am?”

“N-no, no,” she said shaking her head. “I just… that young lady … I – I’m sure I’ve seen her before…” Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she tried to figure it out.

Korsak looked over to Jane who was entirely involved in the conversation she was having with another patron.

“What did you say her name was?” She asked curiously.

Korsak turned back and said, “The police officer? Detective Jane Rizzoli.”

“Jane…” She said thinking how familiar that sounded. Her eyes lit up. “Little Jane. Brilliant little Jane.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Do you know her, ma’am?” Korsak asked curiously but a little protectively.

The older woman nodded. “She used to come here all the time when she was in school. Then one day she just… stopped.”

Korsak looked back over once again. She knew Jane was smart, but he never would have picked her for someone who hung out at libraries.

* * *

 

“Well, that was a waste,” Jane said, slumping back into her chair back at the precinct.   
She was motivated to solve the case but, at this moment, didn’t have any leads and that bothered her.

“Yeah,” Korsak scoffed. “Had to be done though,” he shrugged.

Jane just groaned in unsatisfied agreeance.

“I’m pretty sure none of them did it,” Korsak re-iterated.

“ _I’m_ pretty sure none of them know who did it either,” she said as her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Korsak let out a short chuckle. “Speaking of knowing things, I did talk to one woman who seemed to know you?”

Jane rolled her head over to see Korsak looking quite giddy about something.

“She said she knew you when you were in school,” he paused somewhat deviously watching her response.

Jane began looking annoyed as he continued to withhold the information. She, of course, knew to whom he was referring, but thankfully she was careful not to arouse suspicion.

“She called you,” his cheeks what blushing red as he held in a laugh. “Brilliant little Jane.”

“Mrs Overton…” she said, unexcited by the reveal.

Korsak was giggling like a school girl without saying anything more.

“What?” She said in her usually snarky tone. “I used to go to the library because there was no peace at home with my insane little brothers running around,” she said to her defence.

Korsak shrugged and added, “Hey, I didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jane responded, knowing full well what was going on in his head. “I wasn’t a nerd or anything, I just did my homework. Gees.”

“I didn’t say anything,” he repeated, entirely aware that he really didn’t have to.

* * *

 

That evening, Jane was over at Maura’s for their weekly take-out dinner. Jane had take-out pretty much every other night, but that was usually at home in her pyjamas (and occasionally her work clothes when she’d had a long day).

“Mmm!” She groaned happily. “These noodles are even better than last time!”

“I had noticed that their consistency in terms of the dishes that put out does tend to vary,” Maura said analytically into her stir-fry. “On average though, it’s above-average quality, so I’m happy to keep going back.” She finally looked up only to see a very dissatisfied face sitting across from her.

“I was kidding,” she paused. “I just meant it tasted good!” Jane smiled lightly as she nudged her dorky friend.

“Oh,” Maura said, momentarily thrown off by the fact that they were discussing different things entirely. Quickly recovering though, she reached her chopsticks over and took a mouthful of Jane’s noodles. She chewed, swallowed and then looked very pensive for a second. “I concur. Better than last time,” she smiled.

Jane laughed. “Just for that, I’m stealing some of your dessert,” she winked.

The two continued their evening quite happily, all the while Maura had something else on her mind.   
She noted that on a few occasions throughout the day Jane’s responses seemed a little out of the ordinary. A part of her, a very naggy part, thought that something might be upsetting her. She didn’t trust her instincts enough to bring it up though as her social skills weren’t the finest and she had been tripped up by them too many times before. Instead, she decided to leave it alone; although it didn’t make her entirely content. She didn’t want to mess up her friendship or look like a fool though, so she insisted to herself that was logically the safest option.


	3. Chapter 3

The following day, Jane, Korsak and Frankie spent the morning running down any leads they had; which was a frustratingly low number. After speaking to the library staff and the patrons, they weren’t really left with much more to go on. Apart from a stoned teenager or two taking advantage of the furniture, no-one actually seemed to fit the part, nor had they seen anything overly suspicious.   
Frankie had been charged with the job of watching the surveillance footage. Korsak or Jane would chime in from time to time when they wanted a break from what they were doing, but he was mostly there on his own and that was driving him a little crazy. There were only two cameras recording at the time, one outside the front entrance and one as you walk into the library itself. There would usually be a third located near the emergency escape door at the side of the building, but it had apparently been out of service for a couple of months now.

All the while, Korsak began wading through the immense amount of data that was her phone and credit card statements. The records of Erica Dumarsh (the victim), for the most part seemed pretty mundane. A couple of phone calls a day along with a number of text messages to various people. Regular coffee shop, a bit of online shopping, groceries, a dinner now and then, and that was about it. No suspiciously large withdrawals either. Korsak was beginning to feel a little stumped.

Jane busied herself contacting family, friends and co-workers to find out any other information she could that might lead to the murderer. By all accounts, there wasn’t much to tell. She was a slightly above-average student in high school, never hung out with bad crowds, had a steady work history with no short or sporadic stints of work, loved by family, a good group of friends, never really travelled that far out of Boston, and that was it.   
“Eugh…” Jane groaned as she hung up the phone. “This woman is the most ordinary person I’ve ever had the misfortune to investigate.”

“Tell me about it,” Korsak agreed. “There is nothing of any value on her statements either.”

There was a pause as the two looked at each other, almost dumbfounded by the lack of significant information.

“Why would anyone want to kill her?” Jane asked in frustrated curiosity. “There has to be more to it.”

Korsak just nodded. He didn’t think any words could really change the situation at that moment, and he certainly agreed that there had to be more to the story. They just hadn’t found it yet.

“Hey guys,” Frankie called casually as he stuck his head out from the tech lab. “Come look at something, will you?”

“What is it?” Jane asked curiously as she got closer.

There’s a look on Frankie’s face that was only proving to make her more curious.

“He looks as if he’s found buried treasure,” Korsak joked with a smile.

“Yeah,” she scoffed playfully. “Or the last candy bar,” she said raising an eyebrow.

“You mock now,” he warned. “But, unlike you two, _I’ve_ actually found something,” he said with a smug smile.

The joking stopped pretty quick smart at that point and Frankie was able to explain that there was footage of a hooded figure wearing sunglasses, appearing to be male, that was present on the video going into the library before the incident but was the only one who couldn’t be found leaving the library.

“Nice catch, Frankie,” Jane said genuinely. She had to hand it to him, picking up on something like that involved some serious focus.

“Nice work,” Korsak concurred. “Any ideas who our mystery man is?”

Frankie grabbed a piece of paper from the printer and held it out to them. “Other than a very pixelated figure, I’m not even sure if this guy is white or not.”

“Well,” Korsak paused. “We gotta start somewhere. You two head to the library to see if anyone recognises him and I’ll follow up with Maura and keep contacting people who knew her to see if they know why someone would have wanted her dead.”

* * *

 

“Hey doc,” Korsak said in a friendly manner as he entered the lab.

“Hello Detective Korsak,” she said with a smile. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Jane’s out on a lead, so I’m here to see how you went with victim.”

“Well, it’s lovely to have you here,” she said pleasantly before returning to her usual professional manner. “The victim,” she said walking towards her office, “is indeed Ms Erica Dumarsh. Her teeth matched dental records from which I was then able to confirm that she was 34 as approximated. She had very few distinguishing marks other than the rather obvious stab wounds.”

Korsak followed silently listening to Maura’s conclusions.

“The stab wounds penetrated through her from the front, and I would approximate that the killer was somewhere between 5’6” and 5’8””

“Well, that fits the description of the guy Frankie found,” Korsak nodded.

Maura looked perplexed.

“Oh,” he said realising that Maura had no reference for his last comment. “Frankie was going through the CCTV footage and found some of a guy coming in but not going out. He fits that height.”

“Oh, I see,” she said as she was once again able to be comfortable in her knowledge. “I’m sure it’s quite nice when all the evidence matches up.”

“Yeah,” he said with a little chuckle. “Is that all for me?”

“For now,” she concurred. “Suzy is running some bloods and the lab has a couple of specimens to analyse, but nothing to add for the moment.”

He nodded. “Thanks Maura,” he said as he turned to leave.

Just as Korsak approached the door, she said, “Detective.”

He stopped and turned to once again look at Maura. He nodded as if to imply that she had his attention.

Maura paused, biting her lip subtly as she glanced down at her desk. Within a moment, her professionalism returned she said, “Nevermind.” She smiled reassuringly.

Vince tilted his head and said, “You sure?”

She smiled resolutely and simply said, “Yes. Thank you.”

He nodded and left.

She had wanted to ask if he’d noticed anything different about Jane but decided that, even if she was right, Jane mightn’t want him (or anyone) to know and she didn’t want to be disrespectful.  
Maura wasn't sure if this was the right decision, but she knew she wanted to be sure especially if she planned to raise her concern with someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I really am. I have a thousand excuses but, more importantly, I really am going to try to be more prompt and regular with updates.  
> Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear any thoughts you may have.  
> Hope you’re happy and well.


	4. Chapter 4

“You recognise this man?” Jane said with the slightest sense of excitement in her voice.  
They’d been following up with all the potential witnesses to see if anyone recognised the blurry-faced man from the footage and, so far, no luck.

A man, probably the same age as Jane, nodded once again. “Yeah, I saw him that day. At least, he looks familiar. Maybe he’s from the area or something?” He paused. “Nah, I’m pretty sure he _was_ in the library that day.”

“Do you remember anything about the man?” Jane asked in her usual professional tone.

“Ah… Not really. He seemed a bit antsy, but I thought he just had to pee since he was hanging out near the bathroom,” he shrugged.

“Anything else?” Frankie added.

“His sleeve had a stain on it,” he stated. “I wouldn’t have noticed it, but he kept picking at his jacket for fluff while he waited for the bathroom.”

“I see,” Jane said. “Thank you for your help.”

“If you remember anything else, please give me or my colleague a call.” Frankie handed over a generic business card for the homicide department of B.P.D.

The man looked down to the card in acknowledgement before shrugging slightly and adding, “Sorry I couldn’t be more help.”

“You’ve done plenty,” Jane said assuredly. “Thanks.”

On their way out of the library, they bumped into an elderly lady who, upon seeing Jane, instinctively said, “Brilliant little Jane.” She smiled quite widely, almost as if she were overwhelmed with joy.

Jane glanced down to the ground a little embarrassed before quickly recomposing herself and said, “Hello Mrs Overton.” She smiled politely, as to not seem uncharacteristically enthused.

Frankie stood awkwardly at Jane’s side, unsure of who this woman really was. He smiled politely in the old woman’s direction before taking a step further to the side so that they may speak without having to introduce him.

“A detective,” the woman stated, rather impressed. In her sweet voice she said quietly, “I never would have expected anything less from you.”

Jane had no real intention of getting into a detailed conversation right then and there, particularly in front of company, so she simply bowed her head fondly and said, “Thank you. And you look well too.”

“Oh, me?” Her cheeks turned a rosy pink. “I’ve got double the wrinkles, half the speed and a handful of pills to take every day, but I’m still kicking,” she said spritely.

 _Always did have a quick wit._ Jane couldn’t help but be a little saddened though. Aging was a fact of life but, whether she’d admit it or not, Mrs Overton did have a significant impact on her life at one stage. She smiled kindly before finding an exit. “It’s really lovely to see you,” she said genuinely. “Do take care, Mrs Overton.”

“Lucy, dear,” she smiled. “Call me Lucy.”

Jane nodded in understanding.

“And will I being seeing you again?” She asked curiously.

“Probably. But, if not, I’ll make sure to drop by anyway.” Jane smiled.

“I look forward to it.”

As they walked up the stairs and back into the main foyer, Frankie finally asked. “Who was that?”

Jane’s defences stood strong in the face of, what she’d call, danger. – One type of danger, anyway. – “Oh,” she said aloofly. “She was a librarian when I was in high school.”

Frankie nodded agreeably. “Ah okay. That makes sense.”

There was a moment of pause where Jane at peace knowing that that would be the end of it. That was, until she saw the corner of Frankie’s lips twitch ever-so-slightly, as it did whenever he was contemplating saying something or was having a perplexing though.

“Y’know, I never really did get why you stopped going to library,” Frankie said inquisitively.

Jane shrugged her shoulders apathetically and said, “I dunno. Baseball practice, having to baby sit you and Tommy as ma and pop did things trying to ‘spice up’ their marriage.” She paused pensively then added, “Life just changed is all.”

Frankie nodded once again. Change was a fact of life and he knew it. Besides, it’s not like stopping going to the library really changed Jane’s future. She still made it, right?

* * *

 

“The bathroom isn’t far from the where we found the body, so that puts him close enough to the scene to have done it,” Jane reasoned aloud as they sat back at their desks.

Frankie looked on not as excited by their new knowledge. “Yeah, but we still don’t know who the guy is or why he did.”

“Let’s focus on one thing at a time,” Korsak said assuredly. “We can’t know the why before we know the who, so let’s work on that. Did the witness think he could describe the suspect to a sketch artist?”

“No,” Jane said. “He said he looked like he hadn’t shaved, brown hair, he thinks brown eyes... Other than that, he apparently just looked like a ‘regular guy’,” Jane shrugged her shoulders.

“And no-one else recalls seeing him?” Korsak enquired.

“Nope,” Frankie said, disillusioned. “Everyone else was too busy on their phones or in their books to really notice.” He let out a huff.

“This guy’s gotta turn up somewhere. Are there any other cameras in the area?” Jane urged.

“I’ll have the IT guys check,” Korsak nodded.

“Alright. Have you heard from Maura?” She asked.

“Not since yesterday. She said they were doing some more tests,” Korsak replied.

“I’ll go see if she’s found anything else,” said Jane.

  * ••



“Hey Maur’.”

“Hello Jane, how are you?” She said from behind her desk.

“Mm, I’m good. This case just has no leads,” she said a little frustrated.

Maura couldn’t help but feel like she had few leads on the Jane Rizzoli case, also. She pressed her lips together pensively. “I would surmise that you’re here for the test results,” she said with the implication that this was already known fact.

“Yep. You get anything?” Jane asked tiredly.

“Nothing out of the ordinary, unfortunately. The samples taken from the victim’s clothes all seemed to match her schedule and likely places she’d visited.”

“What is it with this case?” Jane cut Maura off. “Every time we have evidence or a lead, it goes nowhere.” She slumped onto Maura’s lounge and rested her arm on the armrest.

Eager to please, Maura added, “I can tell you that the blade used to stab the victim was a serrated tactical knife, no longer than 3 inches long.”

“Tactical knife? So a pocket knife?” Jane raised an eye brow.

“Perhaps,” she nodded not willing to make too many assumptions. “The hilt of the knife left some small impressions around the deeper wounds which would suggest a wider hilt similar to what would appear as a result of a wound inflicted by a standard Swiss Army knife. And since the standard, or most popular, Victorinox Swiss Army Knife is 91mm long, it seems reasonable to come to that conclusion in a solely hypothetical scenario,” she said, eye brows ever-so-slightly furrowed as they did any time she spoke of something challenging to her intelligence or ethics.

Jane just looked on, sort of bewildered, as she always did. “Right. Thanks Maura.”

Maura simply nodded as she watched Jane stand up and walk to the door. “Oh, Jane,” she said more lightly.

Jane turned slightly. “Yeah, Maur’?”

“I wanted to ask if you’d like to join me for dinner one night, perhaps Thursday?” Her voice wasn’t as confident as she had intended but she hoped it didn’t come off too needy or weird.

“Sure, sounds good,” Jane said happily.

A little taken back by Jane’s quick response, Maura was momentarily stunned before composing herself once again. “Good,” she smiled genuinely. “I look forward to it.”  
She watched Jane leave and head for the elevator. Maura wasn’t overtly happy about luring Jane over under false pretences but she did want to know whether there was anything the matter with Jane that she ought to be concerned about. Although the use of different language and her obvious discomfort as she entered the library initially weren’t cause for concern, as such, it was unusual and she did then seem to be a little dismissive of the notions that anything was different. Maura was still convinced there was more to it and she was determined to find out what.


	5. Chapter 5

“Has that list arrived from the librarian yet?” Jane asked in a frustrated tone.

“Just came in,” Korsak answered.

“It’s about time,” she huffed. “Is there anything interesting on it?”

“Not sure yet. They open up the study rooms to private tutoring groups and businesses having conferences even before they open,” he explained. “That morning there were three groups using the rooms and the window cleaners would’ve also been in.”

“Do any of the groups or individuals seem suspicious?” She enquired.

“Don’t know. I’ll have Frankie run the names through the system to see what comes up.”

* * *

 

Jane stood awkwardly at Maura’s door. She was wearing her work wear (suit pants and a t-shirt) and was feeling rather underdressed when she saw Maura in a floral shoulder dress and heels with her hair pristine. Jane knew Maura was always going to be more formal and/or better dressed than she but, even for Maura, this seemed excessive.

“H- How do you look like that?” Jane remarked a little stunned. “You couldn’t have gotten off work long before me and you were _not_ wearing that today,” she said gesturing to her outfit.

Maura simply smiled. “Would you like to come in?”  
Though she’d never admit, Maura had spent a little longer on her outfit than usual. Since she was trying not to arouse suspicion with Jane, she attempted to look as ‘normal’ as possible. She may have gone a little overboard.

“Ah, yeah,” she said taking a large stride through the door shaking off the awkward feeling.

“Would you like something to drink?” Maura asked politely.

“A beer’d be great.” Jane was still a little overwhelmed but tried not to let it show.   
As they walked into the kitchen Maura opened her a bottle of beer and Jane sat down at the island in the centre of her kitchen. “Cheers.”

“How was your day?” Maura asked keenly.

“Yeah, it was alright,” she paused. “This case has been a real pain but I think we’re _finally_ getting somewhere,” she said before sipping her beer.

“I am glad to hear that,” Maura replied with a smile.

“Yeah,” Jane agreed. “How was yours?”

“It was fine, thank you. Quite productive, which is always nice.”

Jane nodded. “That’s good. What are we doing for dinner?”

“I have been preparing a slow cooked chicken roast with a side of seasoned quinoa, and baked vegetables.”

“I don’t know about the quinoa, but the chicken definitely smells good,” Jane smiled.

“It should be ready shortly,” Maura explained. “Would you like to make yourself comfortable in the lounge room?”

Jane shrugged agreeably and slid of the stool before heading to the lounge room. On the table was a pile of note cards that didn’t appear to have anything on it. “Writing a speech?” She joked.

“No,” Maura smiled anxiously. “They’re conversation topics for this evening.” She rubbed at her upper chest. Maura wasn’t good at lying, nor did she enjoy but, since she couldn’t exactly tell the truth, she decided that an omitted lie was all she had.

“Really?” Jane said raising a slightly judgemental and entirely curious eye brow. “Maura,” she tried to sound sympathetic. “I know we’ve only hung out a few times outside of work, but I think we’re a little beyond pre-prepared ‘ _conversation topics’_.”

Maura glanced down shyly before quickly recomposing herself. Attempting to sound confident she said, “It can’t hurt to have a back-up, right?” She smiled with her lips pressed together.

Jane didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, and she knew what Maura was like so she left it alone… sort of. “So, what will we be discussing this evening?”

Reluctantly placing her glass of wine on the table next to the note cards, she picked up the top card and turned it over. After reading it in her head she said, “Well, I don’t really know much about you outside of work. Do you have any hobbies?”

“Hm,” she hummed with exaggeration. “I go for runs. Does that count?”

“Well, fitness is, I suppose, something you do regularly, so it could be considered a hobby,” she thought aloud.

“What about you? What does Dr Maura Isles do for fun?” Jane asked curiously.

“I run, also, however I do find more of a release from a well-planned yoga and meditation session.”

“Well, alright then,” she said dramatically. “Now that we have learnt that, what’s next?”

Maura pursed her lips a little knowing that Jane wasn’t as ‘into’ these conversations as she was hoping, but she still had a goal to reach so she continued on.   
“What sort of music do you like?”

“Um… a bit of everything, I guess. I like a lot of oldies and rock,” she said quite sensibly.

Maura nodded along, trying to see what she could deduce from the answer. “Do you have a favourite song?”

“Nah, not really,” she shook her head. “What about you?”

“I like classical, mostly. Bach, Schubert, Tchaikovsky,” she replied.

“That’s not really surprising,” Jane said with her signature detective nod.

“Why is that not surprising?” Maura asked with a slight sense of frustration in her voice. Growing up, she was used to be shoved in the typical ‘geek’ box and it was something she had become a little sensitive about over the years.

“Oh, nah, it’s nothing,” Jane said, noticing her tone. “It’s just, usually people as smart as you or who have your intellect have more of an…. _Appreciation_ for classical music,” she explained. “I actually think it’s kind of cool. It means you have actually looked further than the main stream,” she smiled.

Taken back by the unexpectedly kind comment, at least she thought it was kind, she fell back on her default response in social situations: mimic. “Oh. The same could be said about you. Not many people your age would have the appreciation for ‘ _old school’_ music that you do.”

They went on talking in a flowing rhythm for a while with occasional help from the note cards. About half way through dinner there was a slight lull in the conversation and Jane was quick to say, “What’s next?” She had a large and somewhat devious grin on her face.

“What’s next when?” Maura asked, a little confused.

“What’s the next topic?” She said excitedly.

“Really, Jane?” She smiled. “They aren’t even in here,” she tried to reason. Truthfully, Maura simply wasn’t sure how hard she wanted to push Jane on the suspicions.

With a second thought though, Jane shot up out of her seat and grabbed the remaining cards off the lounge room table.

Maura just pursed her lips and shook her head.

When she came back, she held them out to Maura and waited for her to take them before she sat down.

Maura finally relented and took the cards from Jane with a sigh. She once again picked up the top card and read it aloud. “Where do you find is the best place to work that improves and encourages productivity?” Maura’s eyes shot to the side for a second as she began to have second thoughts about what she was trying to do here. She had no intention of alienating her friend and was now struggling to see that her concerns actually balanced it all out.

Jane raised an eye brow. “Really?” She said, almost unamused.

Realising it was too late to back out, she offered her own answer first. “For example, I find that I work most productively and think most freely in one of two places, either my office at work or my office at home,” she explained. “Some people though prefer the outdoors or even a library.” She could feel her muscles tense a little as she said that last word but hoped it didn’t show.

“Um… okay,” she said, still not sure why this was dinner conversation. “I guess I like to work at my desk?”

“Oh,” she said a little surprised by the answer. “Have you always been that way?”

Jane looked still confused but carried on talking, “No. I guess not. When I was a kid I liked the library because it was quiet.”

Maura smiled genuinely. “I also liked the library as a child. I found it allowed my thoughts to be free from pressure and I may work at my own pace.”

“Your own pace?” Jane questioned. “You mean, light years ahead of the other students?”

“Actually, light years is a measurement of distance not time, but…”

“Maura, I know. It’s a saying. I’m well aware that a light year is actually about 9.4607 × 1012 km.” The words came out like vomit before she could refrain from speaking.

Maura looked perplexed.

“What? Some people remember pi, I remember that.” She tried to play it off but, looking at Maura, neither of them really seemed convinced.

After dinner with Jane that night, Maura was convinced that there was most certainly something going on with her friend. Whether she needed to be concerned was still unclear however she was feeling quite strongly that it probably wasn’t a good thing since Jane felt the need to hide it from those closest to her. She understood if she didn’t want to tell her, but Korsak and Frankie whom she’d known for much longer and was closer with?

The night wasn’t completely lost on Jane either. She now knew that Maura was having her suspicions. She couldn’t be sure that Maura had figured out what she was hiding but it was clear she was thought to be hiding something.

* * *

 

“Alright,” Frankie announced as he sat by his computer with his screen on the large display. “So we’ve narrowed it down to three people from that list. Jimmy Stuart, Colin Parker and Ralph Bert.”

Jane cringed a little as she heard that last name. It’d been years since she’d heard that name come out of anyone’s lips.

“Jimmy Stuart was there with a group who do sign language classes in room 2 and has a couple of B and Es on his record. Colin Parker is a realtor who was there with his wife for her ‘Safe Births In the Home’ workshop. He has 1 arrest for burglary and another for resisting, or beating the crap out of an officer, arrest. You ask me, he probably shouldn’t have kids.” Frankie scoffed a little under his breath. “And last but not least, Ralph Bert. He was there cleaning the windows and, other than being committed twice, has no police record.”  
“I have sent the details,” Frankie continued, “to all of your phones.”

“Good work, Frankie,” Korsak said in a very serious tone. “Jane, you and I will go check these guys out. Frankie, you stay here and make sure we know everything we need to know,” he said with a very official nod.

“Yep,” said Frankie.

* * *

 

“So, you gonna tell me what that was about?” Korsak asked staring straight ahead at the elevator doors.

Suddenly this lift ride seemed to be taking a lifetime to Jane. She forced herself to toughen up and finally said, “Nah. Just a kid I knew in high school.”

“Ah,” he nodded. “You guys not really get along?”

“You could say that,” she said as she tried to subtly shove her hands in her pockets.

“Anything I need to know?” Korsak asked from a professional standpoint.

Jane thought for a moment contemplating whether what happened could have had an impact on this case; that is, if he was the perp after all. Noticing that they were about to reach street level she shook her head. “Nah. But I’ll let you know if anything comes to mind.”

Korsak nodded. He wasn’t quite sure if he believed her but, for the moment, trusted that Jane would speak up if there was something pertinent to the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this update.  
> Hope you're happy and well.   
> Thank you for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello to the guest who commented regarding the context of this story and its characters. I completely understand your confusion as I wasn’t entirely clear in the beginning.  
> The characters are in the jobs they presently hold in line with season 7. Their ages are younger to suit the story. I realise that Jane is the youngest woman to make the Homicide squad, and I also understand that, while very capable, Frankie should not really be on the squad yet. So, I’ve been keeping his role as an actual detective to a minimum, restricting him more so to the tech lab with Nina. Does that make a little more sense?

On their way to Colin Parker’s house, Jane’s phone buzzed.

_Thanks again for the other night. Perhaps we could do it again sometime?  
Maura_

Every word was carefully chosen. Not to sound too needy, to maintain proper and respectable social etiquette etc.

One corner of Jane’s mouth rose into a slight smile before she texted back:

_Sure. It was fun. C:_

Jane’s was not as deliberate as Maura’s but she was comfortable that it still got the point across.

Korsak knocked firmly on the door of the apartment.

A few moments later a very pregnant woman opened the door. She moved slowly and it was clear she was tired.

“Hello ma’am. My name is Detective Vince Korsak from Boston Police. Is your husband home?”

The usual look of shock and fear crept on to the woman’s face. “Colin? Is everything alright?” She asked shakily.

“Ma’am, is he home?” Jane repeated.

“Um… Ah, no, he’s gone to supermarket. He should be back soon.” Her eyes were flitting around, still unsure of what was going on.

“Do you mind if we wait?” Korsak asked politely.

She shook her head and ushered them inside.

“Would you like a cup of tea or a glass of water?” She waddled slowly shifting the weight of her belly around.

“No, thank you,” Jane said kindly. “Please, sit down.”

The woman, while wanting to be a good host, won’t refuse the chance to sit down. She practically fell into a lounge chair and loudly exhaled a sigh of relief. When she got comfortable she said, “My name is Melanie but I guess you know that.”

Korsak nodded. “How far along are you?”

“A little over eight months,” she said with an almost sarcastic smile. “Can’t wait to get it out of me,” she laughed.

Jane smiled. “Do you know which hospital you will be delivering in?” She fished.

“Colin and I are actually hoping to give birth at home,” she said with a little more ease.

Jane and Korsak shared a knowing look.

“You and your husband’s names are on a list of people who attended a class at Boston City Library on Tuesday mornings. Is that something you two did regularly?” Korsak enquired.

Melanie tilted her head slightly, beginning to feel somewhat less comfortable with their questions that she was a moment ago. “Yeah,” she said with a subtle but detectable defensiveness. “Colin and I have been doing this workshop on safe births at home.” She paused, watching their responses. She tried to explain, “I’m not really a big fan of hospitals,” she shrugged her shoulders.

“Did you both attend the class two weeks ago?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, we did. We do every week.” It was obvious that the detectives’ line of questioning was making her uneasy.

Thankfully though, Jane and Korsak knew the difference between a frazzled 3rd party member and someone who should be a suspect.

“And were you and Colin in the room together the entire time?” Korsak pressed on.

“Yes,” she said with frustration. ‘What is this about?” Her eyes darted between both of them, trying to find anything that would give her some comfort. “Is this about the librarian who died?”

“Yes ma’am. We’re just following up on all loose ends,” Korsak reassured.

As he was speaking, the sound of keys in the lock could be heard.

“Melanie…” He called as he came into the house. “Is everything okay? The door wasn’t locked.”

“In here,” she said attempting to sit up a bit.

As he entered the room, he saw Korsak and Jane and looked to his wife for answers.

“These people are with the police. They want to talk to you about that librarian who died,” she explained.

There was a noticeable darkness that seemed to fill the space behind his eyes. “Always a suspect with you people…”

Melanie, startled, looked back to the detectives, unaware that this was why they were here.

“No, Mr Parker, we simply had some questions to see if you could help us with any details about it. Perhaps you saw something unusual that morning?” Korsak said keeping a deliberately calm tone.

Colin took a deep, heavy breath. “I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.” His words still carried a sharpness to them.

Korsak and Jane both sensed that Colin had no interest in talking to them. He didn’t seem like a suspect, in this case, and they knew what could happen if he began to consider their questioning harassment. So, they thanked the Melanie and Colin for their time and went on with their day.

* * *

 

*knock knock knock*   
Jane hit her knuckles firmly onto the door of an apartment. The building was in an area that was considered “up and coming” otherwise known as “poor but recently discovered by a group with significant influence”.

“Coming,” a low, gravelly and, by the sounds of it, barely awake voice from inside the apartment. A few moments later a large man in tatty, old boxers and no shirt came to the door.

Jane and Korsak just looked at each other to stop themselves from berating the man for not answering the door with proper clothes on… Or at least a shirt.

Looking back to the man who, they were now sure had quite a hangover, Jane said, “Jimmy Stuart?”

The man rubbed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah? Can I help you?”

“Boston P.D.,” Jane added. “We’re investigating a murder.”

The man’s eyes shot open as he frantically began to defend himself. “I don’t know anything about no murder. I had nothing to do with any murder. I didn’t murder anyone.”

“Sir,” Korsak interjected. “We’d just like to ask you a few questions. May we come in?”

He waves his hand in a sluggish manner before turning and walking towards his kitchen.

Korsak and Jane turn to each other once again and Jane mumbles out of the side of her mouth, “Is this guy for real?”

Korsak just shrugs with a slight smile before heading in himself.

Reaching his kitchen, Korsak asked, “Sir, we’re investigating a murder that occurred at Boston Library.” He waited before adding a question so they could gauge his response.

By now, Jimmy had poured himself a bowl of Cap’n Crunch. He took a spoonful before very casually saying, “So?”

Jane jumped in at this point, disinterested in continuing with the niceties. She said with a fire in her voice, “Have you ever been to Boston Library?”

“Mhm,” he hummed with a mouthful of food.

Jane looked at Jimmy before turning to Korsak once again. “Is he actually serious?”

Korsak showed her a look that, although, said that he was on the same page more so said that professionalism was a priority at this point.

Jane huffed.

“Sir, when was the last time you went to the library?” Korsak enquired seriously.

“Ahm…” He paused. “The other day I had a class there.” He shrugged as if it was of no consequence.

“Did you see anything suspicious?” Jane enquired.

He lazily shook his head and continued eating his breakfast.

“Right. Thank you for your time Mr Stuart. If you remember anything else, give us a call,” he said holding out a card.

After they exited his apartment and headed for the street, Korsak asked, “So, what do you think?”

Jane shrugged. “I think he’s a rude idiot who doesn’t know how much trouble he could be in but I don’t really think he did it.”

“Agreed,” he said nodding.

* * *

 

Last, but not least, they arrived at the residence of one Ralph Bert. Jane was a little wary of this particular visit as it had been a long time since she last spoke to him and they didn’t exactly end on great terms.

“You say you went to school with this kid?” Korsak asked.

“Ah yeah, in junior high.” She tried to play it cool as she tucked the tips of her fingers into her pants pockets.

Korsak simply nodded in understanding.

They knocked on the door.

There was no answer, so they knocked again.

“Boston Police!” Korsak shouted out.

There was no noise in the apartment.

“No-one home?” Jane asked.

“Guess so,” he nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued soon.  
> Sorry for the delay.  
> Hope you're happy and well. 
> 
> Thank you for reading. 
> 
>  
> 
> CC


	7. Chapter 7

“Hey Jane, how are you?” Maura said with a smile as she stirred the contents of a saucepan on the stove.

“Hey Maur,” Jane replied drowsily, slumping onto a stool along the breakfast counter. “I’m fine, how are you?”

“Aw,” Maura said slightly mockingly. “What’s wrong?”

Jane looked at her with a playfully grumpy face before letting out an exaggerated huff and adding more seriously, “Nah, nothing. Just a long day. How are you?”

Maura took a moment to decide whether that answer required her to poke and prod a little more, but concluded that it was sufficient and most probably true. She pursed her lips into a smile and said, “I am well, thank you. Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” Jane said without missing a beat. “What are you cooking anyway? It smells amazing.”

Maura smiled at the compliment. “I am trying out a new recipe for Massaman curry. I think the coriander _[cilantro]_ really gives it an added freshness.”

“There’s coriander in that?” Jane enquired curiously. “Last time I had that, well… technically it was also the first time, it was just this brown curry.”

Maura nodded. “It actually has a range of ingredients,” she stated. “Like many dishes, I’m finding, there are often more ingredients than one can taste at first thought but, take one of these ingredients away during preparation and you’ll find it has quite a different flavour.”  
Momentarily thrown off by her default response to explain things, Maura soon realised something. “Wait,” she said, looking a little defeated. “Does that mean you don’t like Massaman curry? I’d be happy to make you something else.” She didn’t want to seem impolite.

“No, nah,” Jane practically protested. “Really, it’s fine. I’m sure yours is delicious.” She tried to smile sincerely but, in truth, she really wasn’t sure how this was going to go.

“I don’t mind making you something else. I really should have asked if you had any dietary requirements earlier,” Maura said no longer only looking _slightly_ defeated.

“Maura, really. It’s fine,” Jane assured. “Besides, I don’t think me complaining about work and you insisting that I join you for dinner because it was the end of the day and you didn’t think I would cook for myself if you didn’t offer really allows for planning time anyway.”   
Even Jane could be reasonable and rational, or at least logical, when she tried.

Maura pursed her lips, not sure whether to persist. “I’ll tell you what, if you don’t like it, I’ll order you a pizza,” she said with a hopeful smile.

Jane grinned before excitedly adding, “How about we have both!”

Maura let out an involuntary giggle and, just like that, their evening returned to normal without the stress and anxiety of social etiquette.

* * *

 

Jane headed for the door and Maura knew that if she wanted to talk that now was the time to start. “Jane, can we talk?” Maura asked carefully.

Jane slumped and turned back around to face her before adding with a playful impatience, “Do we have to?” It sounded like the remark of a child to a parent, perhaps more so than she’d intended.

Maura didn’t mind her charismatic responses, even if they were just there to hide Jane’s real thoughts. She even considered herself quite used to them, even if she didn’t always understand the context. With wholeness and sincerity, she added, “I would like to, if it’s alright with you.”

Jane’s usual façade quickly disappeared as she realised that Maura’s inclinations were of a more serious nature. Without a word she tilted her head subtly, almost as if to literally lift an ear to Maura’s words.

She took a deep breath before turning side on and gesturing for Jane to have a seat on the lounge.

“What’s on your mind?” She asked in a soft tone as she headed for the lounge.

Although quite nervous at the moment, Maura knew how to put on her brave face, particularly when it came to social situations. How to start a conversation on one’s feelings, especially when it involves the feelings of a stubbornly brave-faced detective, though was a different story. Eventually, after pacing a few steps back and forth as Jane patiently watched and waited, she said, “Do you ever feel like you can’t be yourself?”

Jane looked on perplexed. “What d’you mean?” Her dark eyes showed explicitly how much she cared for Maura and that she was genuinely concerned that her friend may not be okay.

Maura sighed, previously hoping that Jane would catch on and that she wouldn’t have to elaborate as she, herself, didn’t quite know how. “Do you ever feel like you can’t be yourself?” She repeated. “Like, maybe the people around you wouldn’t accept you or like you or respect you if you were your true self.”

Jane could see Maura was upset about something but she didn’t really know what. She guessed that’s why they were having this discussion. Instead of answering the question, she stated, “Maura, you can always be yourself around me. Even if that means you start wearing tasselled clothing at all times, I don’t care. You’re my friend and I want you to be comfortable being you because I will always accept you and appreciate you.”

A little frustrated that Jane hadn’t figured out what she was hinting at, she decided to approach the topic from a different angle. “Would you still accept me if I raised a personal concern with you that would be potentially harmful to our relationship?”

“If you have something on your mind, of course you can talk to me. Hell, you can talk to me when you have nothing on your mind.” Jane smiled caringly and hoped that it showed.

Maura, once again, took a deep breath in and out, finally vocalising, “Lately, I have felt like, perhaps, you have been dealing with something all on your own.” Her words were slow and cautiously spoken. “And, I am concerned that it is affecting your well-being and that makes me quite… sad, for lack of a more eloquent word.”

Jane smiled small before adding, “That’s what you’re upset about?” Her smile grew a little as she fully took in her friend’s cute and caring nature. “Maura, I’m totally fine, really!”

Maura wasn’t impressed by Jane not taking her seriously and simply stood across from her looking disapproving.

Jane let out a breath and pursed her lips into a gentle smile and said, “Come here,” while tapping the couch next to her.

She had to take a few moments to consider how exactly this was going to pan out. She had no interest in just being brushed off because she was quite certain that Jane was not ‘fine’. She relented, however, but assured herself she would not be swayed easily. She walked the few steps towards her lounge and sat about two-feet away from her.

“Maura, it’s very sweet of you to care but, really, there’s nothing going on.” Jane smiled her most convincing smile as she looked Maura directly in the eyes and awaited a response.

Politely, she said, “You’ll have to forgive me then for not believing you.” This was a bold move for Maura, at least in comparison to the Maura that Jane had come to know.

Jane knew she had upset her friend, so she continued on by saying, “Can we talk about it?”

“With respect, according to you, there’s nothing to discuss,” Maura said a little snarkily.

“That’s because I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she exclaimed more energetically than intended.

Maura huffed. “Ever since this case began, you have been acting differently.”

Jane, still quite oblivious to whatever it was the doctor was hinting at, said, “I guess I’ve just been busy! It’s been dead end after dead end.”

“That’s not what I was referring to,” Maura said relatively calmly.

“Then enlighten me, Maur!” She said, somewhat defensively. “Because I care about you, but I don’t know what’s going on here,” she shrugged.

Maura wanted to make things clearer to her blatantly unaware friend, but she didn’t know which piece of information was going to be the thing that would cause the penny drop in her head. She took a moment to consider before saying, “You know the distance of a light year.”

“So?”

“Not the round-about answer, not the close answer, but the exact distance,” Maura continued to explain.

“Maura, so what? Everyone knows a weird fact or two,” she reasoned.

“The other day,” she added, “You used the word ‘evocative’. And tonight during dinner when we were talking about the difference between a coriander leaf and that of continental parsley you used the word ‘comparatively’.” Maura sighed. “You are a brilliant detective who is incredibly strong and remarkably smart but, in all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never spoken those terms.”

Jane glanced down, she hoped subtly enough for it not to be noticed.

“Don’t tell me there’s nothing going on, Jane. I care about you and there’s obviously something happening here.”

Jane didn’t want to lie to Maura, but she didn’t know how to tell the truth about this either.

“At the library, you knew one of the employees. Does it have something to do with that?” She said, eyebrows raised in the centre of her forehead.

 _Shit._ She sat, annoyed with herself that she’d let anything show, let alone been stupid enough not to notice when it had.

Maura saw the struggle that was currently plaguing her friend. She took a relaxed breath, feeling better that maybe this meant the truth was finally coming out and that a resolution could be found. She reached her hand across and rested it gently on top of Jane’s. “Jane, please. What’s going on?”

Jane, whose elbow was resting on the top of the lounge’s back, rubbed her forehead despairingly with a quiet sadness beginning to take over the better part of her mind. “It’s… complicated,” she said with a slow shake of the head.

* * *

 

_*buzz buzz buzz*_

Jane’s phone vibrated loudly on her bedside table.

_*buzz buzz buzz*_

Finally, she rolled over and tried to look at the screen before finding that it was too hard for her eyes to adjust. So, she guessed; “Rizzoli,” she said with a low groan.  
“Seriously?” Jane paused waiting for the other person’s response.   
“’Kay, I’ll be there soon.” She said before hanging up and rolling onto her back. Staring at the ceiling she pulled up her wrist to check the time. _4am._ “Crap,” she uttered uncaringly.

Waking Jane from her slumber is like poking an angry bear except a little more dangerous. So, when she arrived at the station, it was only natural to find the person in charge of radio communications this shift looking a bit fearful and avoiding eye-contact as she passed.

She reached her desk and fell into her chair. Korsak was already there and, unlike her apparently, had already had more than one cup of coffee.

“I see they decided to interrupt your beauty sleep?” Korsak remarked cheerily.

Jane looked him in the eye, clearly unimpressed.

“Fine, fine,” he replied. “Did they tell you what was going on?”

“Said there was someone here who insisted on speaking to me and that he was throwing a hissy fit?” Jane said, clearly not quite past her usual morning grumpiness.

Korsak looked her straight on for a moment before asking, “Did they tell you who?”

Jane tilted her head slightly, realising that there may be more to this than she originally thought. “Who?”

“Ralph Bert,” he stated, carefully watching Jane’s response.

As expected, a look of shock appeared on her face almost before Korsak had finished speaking. She sat up in her chair leaning her elbows on her desk and her head on her hands. It could even be speculated that she even looked a little nervous.

Korsak wasn’t sure how to press on with this but knew that he needed more information than the fact that Jane and he went to school together at one stage. “I take it they didn’t tell you exactly what Ralph has done since he turned up this morning?”

Jane’s face shot to the side so she was facing Korsak directly. “No,” she said, now more worked up than before. “What the hell happened?”

Korsak let out a barely audible sigh. “I didn’t want this on the radios, and figured it would be better to keep it contained.”

He paused for not even two seconds before Jane jumped in, now significantly agitated, and said, “Korsak, what the hell is going on?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next chapter. ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Korsak looked incredibly serious at this point. It was overtly clear that this was in no way a laughing matter. “Bert arrived a little after three this morning. He didn’t identify himself to the attending officer on duty, and announced that he had witnessed a crime and that he wanted someone to hear it. So, the officers took him to an interrogation room. When they asked what he saw, Bert said he would only speak to you. They tried to convince him to talk to them but he insisted, finally saying that if he didn’t speak to you he would detonate a bomb that he had strapped to himself underneath his shirt and jacket.”

Jane struggled to compose herself. “Is it a real threat?”

Korsak took a moment and then sternly nodded just once. “It was made clear to officers that he did have an explosive device on his person. We don’t know yet if it works but, if it does, it’s enough to take out at least one floor of the building.”

Jane looked on, stunned by the whole scenario. “What now?”

“Well,” Korsak said carefully, “Now, I think, is when you tell me what really happened when you knew this guy.”

Hoping to find something to use to deflect, she looked around only to realise that the building did seem quieter than it usually was, even for early morning. She realised that they had already started clearing out the building. This was real and this conversation had to be had. She let out a heavy sigh. Looking at her, it was almost as if it physically pained her to exhale. “Where do I start?” She finally said.

“The beginning’s always a good place,” Korsak said with a bit of a shrug.

She sat, thinking, still overwhelmed by the whole situation. “We met in year 7,” she relented. “He was smart, and didn’t really like me.”

Before she could continue Korsak asked, “Why didn’t he like you?”

She blinked her eyes slowly, weighing the thoughts in her mind. “I was smart, I guess. And I worked hard.” She paused, hating that this is where things that ended up. “He didn’t like that he wasn’t the only smart kid in class.”

“So, he’s got an ego. How did he get here?” Korsak asked, genuinely puzzled.

“Ralph was always… unstable, to say the least. About half way through year 8, I guess it got too much for him. He didn’t like the competition, he didn’t like me and, I guess, he didn’t like life so,” she paused once again deciding how to phrase it. “So, he tried to kill himself.”

Korsak looked with raised eye-brows as he took it in. “Gees.” That’s all he said, at least for a few moments. The two exchanged glances; Korsak’s were mostly of shock as he tried to process it and decide how to respond. Jane, though, hers were far more pained. Nearly losing a peer to depression at that young an age those would have been rough on anyone. Finally breaking the long silence, Korsak asked, “What happened after that?”

She shrugged a little shaking her head. “Didn’t really see him after that. He started home-schooling and that was it.”   
What she’d told Korsak so far wasn’t a lie. There were a few omissions but not that she considered to be vital to the case.

“Any reason he’d still want to get back at you now?” Korsak enquired.

“No,” she said honestly. “I mean, I don’t know. Like I said, we haven’t seen each other in ages.”

“Is it possible that he never recovered?”

“I guess,” Jane said unsurely. She didn’t know, truthfully. Anything was possible though. “Have you contacted next of kin?”

“Parents died when he was 17, and was taken in by an aunt. We’re trying to contact her now,” he stated.

She nodded in understanding. “Can I talk to him?”

Korsak took a moment to think before replying with, “I want to be in there with you.”

Jane looked hesitant. “Maybe,” she suggested, “he’d feel more comfortable if it was just me.” She looked Korsak in the eyes trying to convey confidence. “You can watch from the other side and you’d be a doorway away if you think things aren’t going well.”

Korsak wasn’t sure but decided that there was a good chance Bert might feel more at ease if it is just Jane, so he agreed. He did, however, insist on her wearing an earwig so, if he needed to, he could communicate with her while she was in the room.

  * ••



“Hi Ralph,” Jane said as she cautiously entered the interview room.

“Hello… Jane,” he said in a low and slightly disgusted tone. “I’ve been following your work,” he added. “Youngest female officer to join homicide,” he paused with a shrug as he looked around, more interested in the walls than Jane it seemed. “I would have guessed scientist but I guess we all make mistakes.”

In his last few words there was some obvious subtext present but Korsak didn’t know what it was.

Jane didn’t want to play games. Calmly but very seriously she asked, “What do you want Bert?”

Bert looked jane straight in the eyes and repeated, “What do I want?”

As an onlooker, it seemed his voice became more disturbing each time he opened his mouth.

“I want you to pay for what you did.” This was a statement, plain and simple.

Jane let her guard down for a moment, “What I did? What did I do, _Bert_?” In a lapse in judgement, Jane said his name in a slightly patronising manner. She quickly regrouped though.

“I’m surprised you have to ask. You took my life away from me so easily that it must have just slipped your mind,” he replied harshly.

Korsak cringed at the choice of words, and Jane did so internally. He hoped Jane would not take the bait.

At this point, Maura entered the viewing room in a flustered manner. “Korask,” she said almost out of breath. “What’s going on?”

“What are you doing here Dr Isles? The building is meant to be shut down.” Korsak spoke with both confusion and concern.

Maura ignored the question. “An officer at the front told me that one of the suspects came in with a bomb threat,” she stated.

Korsak gave a nod. “Ralph Bert,” he confirmed.

Maura audibly gulped as her fear was made real.

“What?” Korsak was quick to say, already a little jumpy about this whole situation.

Maura sighed. “Did Jane tell you what happened between them?”

“Yeah. Just that he was a little too competitive and didn’t like anyone else being top of the class.” He spoke non-chalantly as if it weren’t a big deal (at least, not as big as Ralph Bert had made it).

Maura pursed her lips a little. “Yes, that is all true.”

“I sense a but,” Korsak said watching Maura hold her body tightly.

“Mm,” she hummed hesitantly. “Did she mention that Mr Bert tried to kill himself?”

“Yeah, she did,” Korsak replied apprehensively, suspecting there might still be more.

“Did she mention how?”

“No,” he said with a quick shake of the head. “Is it relevant?”

Maura pursed her lips. “Although it is not my place, I believe that yes, this is something you might need to know.”

Korsak looked on patiently.                                

“He called Jane to school one evening. It was still bright out and when Jane arrived she could see him. He began shouting her name as he stood on the ledge of a three-storey building. That was it. He got her attention and then he leapt.”

Korsak began looking far more scared of Bert’s threats than he was a moment ago. Sure, he had of course taken them seriously and taken precautions but now it all seemed very real and very likely.

“He survived with minimal injuries but still required some reconstructive surgeries to his outer limbs.”

“This guy’s a psychopath,” he replied somewhat unprofessionally (as accurate as the statement may have been).

“Well, I can’t be certain but it’s not improbable.”

Korsak simply replied with a stern look on his face before walking out into the corridor.

Maura turned her attention back to Jane and Bert when a knock could be heard on the interview room door.

The relatively controlled conversation between Jane and Ralph was halted.

Korsak stepped in and introduced himself once again. “Hello Mr Bert. My name is Detective Korsak, we met earlier.” He was calm, polite and respectful as spoke.

“What do you want?” He replied roughly. “This is between me and Jane,” he insisted.

Korsak continued speaking in his previous manner in attempt to not provoke Mr Bert any further. “I understand Mr Bert. However, as Detective Rizzoli’s supervisor, I will be sitting in for the remainder of this interview.”

Jane just watched, not quite knowing what to say and well-aware that nearly anything she could say would only make things worse.

Ralph considered refusing but was pretty certain it wasn’t going to do anything, - he was psychotic, not stupid. – “It’s your funeral,” he snarled, refocusing on Jane.

Korsak simple gave a slight nod as he took a seat next to Jane.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

“Mr Bert,” Jane continued. “Ralph,” she corrected herself in a kind tone. “I want you to understand that nothing I ever did was intended to hurt you.”

He scoffed unbelievingly. “That’s just it, isn’t it, _Jane_?” He said her name with disgust. “It wasn’t ever about me, it was always about _you_ ,” he emphasised. “ _You_ were top of the class, _you_ were the teacher’s favourite, _you_ were the best at sport. You were school captain after all; voice of the people, role model to the younger students and blah, blah, _blah_.” The faint humour in his voice had faded by the final word where it became complete displeasure and anger toward the situation.

Jane let out a frustrated sigh.

Acutely aware of this, Korsak stepped in as to not exacerbate his already unsettled anger. “Mr Bert,” he said politely and sympathetically. “You’re clearly a very clever person, more so than myself or my colleague.”

The blood rushed to Jane’s face.

“So, maybe you can just help us understand,” he suggested, playing the inferior role.

“No, ya know what?” Jane interrupted. “ _I’ll_ explain!”

Mr Bert simply looked on in awe still feeling, however, that he had the upper hand. He _was_ going to have the last laugh.

“Detective,” Korsak said firmly hoping to dissuade her.

“No, I got this,” she emphasised with a confident look in her dark eyes. “ _Ralphy_ here, was feeling ‘underappreciated’ in the world and he thought it would be a great idea to mess with his old taunt. Nothing I ever did was directed at you but you still felt threatened by me. I get it, being a teenager is hard, but nearly 20 years on and you’re still out to get me for something that I didn’t even do?! But you know what, you should feel good about yourself,” she said standing abruptly and walking steadily around to Mr Bert’s side of the table. “You messed with my life in more ways you can imagine,” she stated resolutely. “You’re the smart one now! You come in here with your cute little lies and a homemade bomb strapped to your chest? And all that, - you did all that, you were so smart, - that you thought a fake detonator would do the trick,” she said roughly as she grabbed down at one of the cords and yanked it off him.

It all happened far too quickly for Maura or Korsak to look surprised, let alone to have taken action. But that was it; it was over. From then on it all became quite civilised. Ralph Bert was arrested for the murder of Erica Marsh and for [fraudulently] threatening the lives of hundreds of police officers as well as, potentially, unarmed citizens nearby. Understandably, Korsak was sure to reprimand her for her actions being so risky and for acting alone instead of informing her partner/s. She replied that it all happened too quickly but, motivated enough, it was believed she could have done so.

* * *

 

“You know, Jane,” Maura said a little quietly as they both stared at the lights of the television screen in Jane’s dimly lit loungeroom. “If you ever wanted to, I don’t know, be the real you…” She glanced down, not really knowing what to say. “I wouldn’t judge,” she shrugged, sad that she couldn’t find something better.

Jane smiled to herself and mumbled, “Thanks, Maura.”

Maura nodded, and said, “You’re welcome,” hopefully.

They both stared blankly at the screen for a little while longer before, out of nowhere, Jane leaned over and kissed Maura’s cheek – dangerously close to her lips. – She then sat back and looked at Maura adding, “This is the real me.”

Maura looked shocked before centring herself and replying, “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” she said with a small laugh. “Doesn’t mean it’s not true,” she smiled hoping that Maura would return the same expression.

“Well,” she said carefully. “The you I like is the _true_ you,” she smiled warmly.

 

**CC**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, ladies and gents,
> 
> That is all!
> 
> I truly hope you have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have appreciated the challenge that has been writing it!
> 
> Hope you’re very happy and well.


End file.
